


i can't stop judging every thing you do (but I can't get enough of you)

by statisticallysignificant



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Cheating, College AU, F/F, i know this is a longass title don't @ me, kara is human and was not adopted by the danvers family bc the zor el's are alive!, luthor family is just super rich and snobby but not evil!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-10 22:29:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15301413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/statisticallysignificant/pseuds/statisticallysignificant
Summary: kara is pretty sure they're from two separate worlds but that doesn't stop her from longing after lena luthor from afar.or, the college au where kara is super poor and there on a scholarship while lena is the luthor heiress





	1. another bitch from the upper west side

**Author's Note:**

> title and fic inspo is largely from king princess' [upper west side](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouTTpJDZDGs)! would largely recommend listening to it and her ep make my bed
> 
> anyways wow it's been so long since i've posted a fic but hopefully i'll be writing more the rest of this summer!

Kara normally liked to consider herself as a pretty rational person. Sure, maybe she could get a little overly competitive at game night or be just a little insistent on buying potstickers at every chance possible, but that was one thing. Really, Kara Zor El was almost positive that  _ her,  _ Kara Zor El, with absolutely nothing to her name, having some sort of school girl crush on  _ Lena Luthor _ , who just happened to hail from National City's richest family, could only point to her being completely deranged. 

Because rationally, Kara knew they were from two different worlds-- Kara came from a rural farm she's lived her entire live, Lena's alternated between 5 mansions all around the world; Kara relies on hand-me-downs and cheap thrift stores for her clothing, Lena looks like she’s going down a runway in Paris everyday; Kara was at the same private school only because she managed to receive a full-tuition scholarship, Lena was there because not only was she a certified genius, but she also came from the family who started the biggest technology company out there, Luthor Corp. 

And realistically, even if they weren’t from separate worlds and Zor El just happened to be synonymous to unworldly riches, Kara had no chance because Lena Luthor was set to marry James Olsen, the heir of the largest media corporation in the world, as a way to join the two most powerful families in the city together. And while it seemed to Kara that Lena had absolutely no interest in marrying James (or a man, frankly-- there had been rumors that Lena had a short fling with upperclassman Veronica Sinclair before her parents arranged her engagement with James, after all), it still wouldn’t change the fact that the Luthor family only acted in their best interest. And a poor cardigan-wearing girl from Iowa whose family’s “riches” consisted of a small corn farm surely did not fit _that_ bill. 

Regardless, Kara couldn’t help staring at Lena a little too long in classes, imagining what it’d be like to kiss her blood-red lips or what it’d be like to hold her soft, moisturized hands in her own calloused ones. Working in the mail station, Kara couldn’t help but imagine striking up a conversation with Lena whenever she received another token of James’ affection in the form of some fancy diamond necklace. And at the formals the college organized, Kara couldn’t help but picture herself asking Lena, surrounded by her fellow rich socialite friends, to dance. Suffice to say, she’s never even said more than two words to Lena.

Interrupting her thoughts, a shaking hand appeared in her line of view. “Hey, earth to Kara.” 

Snapping out of her daydreams, Kara sheepishly smiled and turned towards Winn Schott, her best friend at the college. “Sorry, I just zoned out there.” 

Winn simply snorted, “Is that what we’re calling staring at your crush, daydreaming? Are you about to compose a poem for her, on your knees, declaring your eternal love for her? Or maybe you’re just gonna skip to the chase and simply propose and fight James for her hand?” At that, Maggie gave Winn a high five, “My money’s on the third option.’ 

Blushing, Kara smacked Winn lightly on his shoulder, groaning, “Shut up, Winn! I wasn’t thinking about her at all and we’re not in some medieval romance novel. Besides, you know it’s just some stupid, minor crush.”

 Winn gave her a disbelieving look, arching his eyebrows in a challenge. “Uh huh, whatever you say, Kara. I just don’t understand why you have a thing for her. I mean, don’t you think she’s a bit snobby? Like she once snapped at a cafeteria worker and threatened to get him fired for not having her special kale salad ready on time for her.” 

 Maggie nodded in agreement. “And just like all that designer clothing she wears. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in sweatpants or something that wasn’t handmade and imported from fucking Italy or some other exotic country.” 

Kara simply shrugged, because truthfully, Lena could be a little rude and spoiled and Kara knew it was a tad concerning that she was a bit into her mean streak. “Well, I guess that just comes along with being rich and pampered. But she’s also really sweet! Like she wants to create technology that benefits the world and remember that time she donated her monthly allowance to build a children’s hospital?” 

 “Okay, okay. All I’m saying is that hey, maybe you’re the one out of _her_ league,” Winn suggested, gesturing towards her, “I’m sure you’ll find someone better than her.” 

 Kara shrugged noncommittally, “Yeah I’m not so sure about that.” Frankly, Kara’s lovelife was pretty tragic. Once most students caught wind of the fact that she was practically broke, they lost all interest entirely. Like Mon-El, who admittedly, Kara wasn’t into at all. But the attention was nice and Mon-El could be sweet (minus the fact that he eventually cheated on her after he discovered that she didn’t have a trust fund he could exploit, of course). 

 And if they didn’t make some excuse to immediately bail (Kara thinks the most amusing excuse was “I have to pet my fish now”), perhaps even worse, they’d scrunch their nose in obvious disgust before awkwardly commenting that it’s “cute” and “refreshing” she didn’t have vacation home in Hawaii. Really, Kara was tired of it, but she supposed that’s what she gets for going to a private school full of the children of Fortune 500 companies. 

 That being said, she was still endlessly thankful for the friends she did have that didn’t judge her for her lack of wealth-- like Winn, who was similarly ostracized because his dad was thrown in jail for corruption and unfair business practices, and Maggie, who was also a scholarship kid. 

 “Are you going to the big masquerade dance tonight?” Maggie asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, “Maybe you’ll meet someone there.”

 “Yeah I think so, if I’m not too tired after my shift at the mail station,” Kara acquiesced.

 “Good,” Maggie replied, “You better be there. There’s no way I’d be able to face Alex Danvers without you there.” Alex and Maggie ended up hooking up a month ago at a frat party, but haven’t talked since, even though Kara was convinced that the two of them were already half in love with each other but both too stubborn to admit their feelings. And even though Alex came from a well-off family, Kara found that she was really kind-hearted, never looking down on her or the other scholarship kids for not being as affluent. 

 “So it’s settled! We’ll all be there,” Winn winked, slinging his arms around both girls’ shoulders. 

 

* * *

 

The hours at her shift were dragging. Everyone was getting ready for the masquerade, which meant that hardly anyone was bothering to come pick up their mail. Which was nice on one hand because that meant that she was basically being paid to do her homework and scroll mindlessly through her phone, but it was also just boring. Being the sociable person she was, Kara loved striking up conversations with students when they were picking up their mail-- it was certainly a good way to be acquainted with the students at the school. 

With the ring of a bell signalling the arrival of someone into the mail station, Kara quickly perked up from the Words with Friends game she was currently playing with Winn and Maggie (okay, yes, maybe that game was popular like two years ago, but it’s addicting!). 

 And of course, it just had to be Lena Luthor, in a simple black dress, her lips a bold red, and a white Gucci bag hanging off her arm. “Hello. Lena Luthor,” she said in a thick Irish accent. When Kara, stunned, made no move to grab her package, Lena visibly scrunched her nose in annoyance. “I have a package here, I’m on a short time crunch so it’d be great if you could turn off that Words with Friends game and grab it.” 

 “Um, yeah, of course, sorry about that,” Kara spluttered, finally shaken out of whatever trance she was in. Heading back towards the stacks of mail, she quickly spotted the box for Lena (of course, from James Olsen) and grabbed it, before heading back towards the counter. “Here you go,” Kara sheepishly muttered, sliding the package across the counter towards Lena, “Um, it’s sweet of him to send you, uh, so many gifts.” 

Lena merely rolled her eyes, placing the box inside her purse. “You wanna marry him instead?”

 “Um no, of course not! You two are like, perfect for each other,” Kara awkwardly rambled, and at Lena’s arching eyebrow begging her to explain, she added, “I mean, like, you’re both from powerful families and he’s attractive and nice, right?” Kara could only hope that this made it clear without any doubt that Kara was most certainly not into Lena Luthor or her to-be husband. She wasn’t sure she could deal with a Luthor lawsuit. 

 Lena only gave her a quizzing look, taking a look down at her clock before sighing. “I suppose so. I really must go to a hair appointment but thank you for the package…” she trailed off. 

 “Um, Kara,” she offered. 

 Giving her a devilish smile, Lena quickly added, “Kara. I suppose I’ll see you at the dance tonight?” 

 Kara could only eagerly nod, stunned at the last thirty seconds of their interaction. At Kara’s eager confirmation, Lena gave her a last wave before turning and exiting out the door.

 Well, guess she was _definitely_ going to the dance tonight. 

  
  
  



	2. you're so cute, bet you really want to be a star

Kara was almost positive she didn’t have anything even vaguely suitable for the masquerade, but she figured that her current outfit-- a white button-up tucked into black pants with a black suit jacket to complete the look-- would just have to suffice. It was a simple, reliable look, but hey, it wasn’t like she had a thousand dollar designer dress lying around.

Even if she just happened to stumble upon a Cinderella-esque makeover, she knew that most likely, she wouldn’t actually be interacting with Lena at the dance in any shape or form. Even if James didn’t happen to make an appearance to the dance as Lena’s date, Lena would be surrounded by her rich socialite friends, probably talking about taking daddy’s jet for a joyride or discussing the A-list parties of Hollywood stars they were getting invited to.  

 Almost most certainly, Lena and her snobby friends would never be caught dead with someone without a vacation home in the Hamptons. Although, Kara figured (more so hoped) that since it was a masquerade and her identity would essentially be concealed, maybe she would have a chance after all. A chance to not be Kara Zor El, dirt poor farm girl. A chance to be someone worthy of Lena Luthor, someone lucky enough to whisk Lena out onto the dance floor to dance the night away. Wishful thinking, she was well-aware.

 “You’re such an idiot, Kara,” she could only mutter to herself.  Shaking herself from her wishful thinking, Kara sighed before giving one last perusing of her appearance in the mirror before placing her gold mask over her face. _Guess it’s now or never._

 

* * *

 

 

It didn’t take long for Kara to find Lena in the sea of hundreds of students. It probably helped that Lena was wearing a mask that obstructed little of her face-- not large enough to hide her signature blood red lipstick, of course (and probably the fact that she was more than just a little infatuated with her helped too). Of course, she wasn’t even spared a glance from Lena, who seemed to be engaged in conversation with Sam Arias, the heir of one of the biggest fashion empires in the world, and Maxwell Lord, an asshole whose father owned some big technology corporation. Kara could only imagine that they were discussing how this dance came nowhere close to the ball they attended in actual Paris or whatever events rich people went to.

Before she could even grapple with the merits of approaching Lena and asking for a dance, she’s aggressively tackled in a hug. “You came!” Maggie excitedly exclaimed, before giving Kara a once-over and wolf-whistling in approval, “Damn, Kara, you look good.”

Kara felt her cheeks reddening, and she could only sheepishly grin before Winn chipped in, “Yeah, bet you’ll have Lena drooling all over you.”

Despite the glimmer of hope that statement gave her, Kara smacked Winn on the side lightly, “Shut up, you know that’s not my goal.”

In response, both Maggie and Winn only gave her a pointed look of doubt. “Whatever, guys,” Kara sighed, before finally taking the time to look around the fully decorated hall, “But wow, this is actually so nice.”

The theme of the dance was “A Night in Paris,” and gold and silver bows and ribbons surrounded the hall, and in the very center was an ice sculpture of the Eiffel Tower. In the corner, was a professional symphony playing elegant dance music, a photographer taking portraits of students on a red carpet, and a long table filled with hordevours, desserts, and a punch bowl. Not to mention, staff dressed in bow-ties went around the hall with plates of small bites.

“Don’t think we don’t notice you changing the subject on us,” Maggie teased, before nodding, ‘But yep, this event is as bougie as everything else that comes into this school.”

“Wait-- are those potstickers?” Kara excitedly asked, pointing to a staff member with a plate of her favorite food. Without even waiting for a response from Winn or Maggie, Kara rushed towards the potstickers, determined to get there before the other students consumed all of them. In her haste, however, she failed to realize that Lena Luthor and her group of friends just happened to be right beside the waiter, consumed in conversation, and before Kara could register what was happening, she crashed into Lena.

Luckily, before Lena could dramatically fall to the floor, Kara quickly grasped Lena’s back in what could pass as a fancy dance dip, her face inches from her face. With Lena’s breath fanning her in the face and Kara staring intoxicated by Lena’s subtle perfume and well, the fact that she was literally two inches from Lena’s lips and actually _holding_ her, Kara was frozen. Before, Kara didn’t have the chance to really study Lena’s appearance tonight, and it didn’t disappoint. Lena was in a skin-tight midnight black dress that dipped down to show her cleavage, her hair lightly curled and up in a bun.

It seemed that Lena was similarly stuck in a trance, but only briefly, because it didn’t take long for her to regain her composure and clear her throat, a slow smirk forming. “As delightful as this is, do you mind lifting me?”

And just like that, the magic was gone, and Kara was catapulted back into reality. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” Kara quickly apologized, before lifting Lena back into a standing position, “I was just so distracted and didn’t notice you were right there. Promise it won’t happen again.”

“It’s no problem at all,” Lena _winked,_ and Kara could swear that her heart was going to combust from beating so fast. Kara was half-convinced that she imagined the wink, too, maybe it’s a side effect from the shock of actually crashing into Lena Luthor and not facing some sort of lawsuit or sharp comment.

Before Kara could run away and forget entirely about eating a potsticker, Lena added, “You know, I feel like the polite thing to do in this situation is to ask me to a dance now that you’ve nearly toppled me over.”

Kara was relatively sure that her mouth instantly dropped open in shock at Lena’s suggestion, but honestly, she’s impressed at herself for actually finding the ability to nod enthusiastically in response. At Kara’s reaction, Lena chuckled, offering her hand to Kara, “Well, then, lead the way, Kara.”

Hearing her name from Lena’s lips once again in itself nearly short-circuited Kara’s brain, but that was nothing to actually holding Lena’s hand and dragging her to the middle of the dancefloor once a new song began.

And if Kara wasn’t in love with Lena before, she certainly was after dancing with Lena, her hand low on Lena’s back and Lena’s hands wrapped around her neck, a smirk painting her red lips.

“You’re a good dancer,” Lena commented after their dance, drawing back a few inches from Kara and Kara almost instantly felt the loss of having Lena’s body pressed right up against her, “Didn’t think you would be after you crashed into me.”

“Thanks,” Kara could only sheepishly respond, “Sorry again about that.”

Lena merely chuckled. “You’re good, I’m only teasing.”

By now, another song had started but neither girl made any move to leave, the two content to just stand in silence, Kara with a dopey smile on her face and convinced that this entire night had to be a hallucination or a dream. Figuring that her time with Lena was up, Kara reluctantly suggested, “So I should probably let you get back to your friends?”

In response, Lena only gave Kara a blood-red smirk, before pressing her body back onto Kara’s and leaning in close to Kara’s ear, whispering, “Or... we could get out of here.”

At this point, Kara’s lost track of the number of times tonight she’s been stunned into shock, but this one probably took the cake. Before Kara could eagerly take the offer (really, there was nothing else on the world she’d want more), she did feel some sort of moral obligation to the fact that Lena wasn’t exactly single and available. “But what about James?” she could only ask, fully aware that she didn’t really care about the answer especially if Lena kept giving her that same hooded look.

“I won’t tell him if you don’t,” Lena only seductively whispered, lightly tracing designs on Kara’s blouse, “Plus, I don’t see him here, do you?”

And really, as much as Kara liked to pride herself as being morally righteous, Lena’s response was really all she needed to throw away any semblance of her morals quickly leave the dance with Lena, hand-in-hand.

 

* * *

 

Kara wakes up alone in her bed, the sun in her eyes, and really, she’s convinced that last night’s events were entirely a dream until she sees a note on her drawer that most certainly wasn’t there before.

Eagerly, Kara got up, ignoring the soreness of her body, reading the note. Scrawled in black ink were the words, _“Call me XXX-XXX-XXXX. Lena”_

And as disappointed as Kara was that Lena didn’t stay the night (although maybe that had something to do with the fact that Lena wasn’t used to a bed situation any less than a king bed and sheets with a 1000 thread count), she couldn’t help but fist-pump in excitement at the words on the note. It almost made her forget that Lena was engaged to someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i might add another part to this-- we'll see how motivated i am. but hopefully you enjoyed this fic and thanks for reading! be sure to comment + let me know what you think, and come find me on tumblr at [@luthorings](http://luthorings.tumblr.com)!

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be a quick one shot but i have no self-control so this will probably end up being a two-shot or three-shot. hopefully you enjoyed! leave a comment to let me know what you thought, and come find me on [tumblr](luthorings.tumblr.com)!


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